NT Reporter
Panaji
Five people from among the protesters opposing the Unity Mall and Prashasan Stambh at Kadamba Plateau have been called
by the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for further discussions on Wednesday, said Govind Shirodkar, chairman of the Chimbel Biodiversity Management Committee.
“We received an official message stating that five representatives have been called for discussions,” said Shirodkar, during a press conference on Monday.
Shirodkar said that the Chief Minister, while at the protest site on January 15, had informed them that the projects fall under the central government and such decisions cannot be taken within a single day. Protesters were asked to give two days’ time, till Monday or Tuesday, and were requested to withdraw the strike and return home, he said.
Shirodkar said that when the CM arrived at the protest site on January 15, they clearly presented their demand for the scrapping of both projects. “We have also asked the government not to challenge the court order and stated that, as per the NIO report, the wetland area must be properly demarcated and the two proposed projects should be scrapped.”
Meanwhile, social activist Ajay Kholkar said the proposed discussions with the government will focus only on scrapping the projects and nothing else.
Kholkar said that “no documents have been provided regarding the Prashasan Stambh project”.
He said the proposed 17-storey building will house around 60 departments, with nearly 2,000 to 3,000 employees working there and 4,000 to 6,000 people visiting daily. He added that the large number of vehicles, including electric vehicles, will create serious pressure on the area.
“Turning our village into an administrative capital hub is not possible, as it is a village panchayat area with no capacity to support such large projects,” he, said,adding that there are no proper arrangements for water supply, garbage disposal or other basic infrastructure to accommodate projects of this scale.
